How to slackline without trees

Lack of trees is a common problem in some areas, usually
trees are the best and most accessible answer but there are
other solutions. First though, my best recommendation is to
go to your nearby park or other area where you can find
trees that suit your needs. It’s also a good way to meet
people and you don’t have to worry about the complexities of
rigging or worry about breaking whatever anchors your
making.

Upright Anchors

Upright anchors such as telephone poles, truck hitches on
vehicles, heavily cemented street signs, porch and deck
woodwork (heavy anchored 4x4’s or larger) and other various
things like that work very well. Keep an eye on it when
testing the line, if it moves much at all, find a different
anchor.
Overall as long as it will withstand 1,500 lbs of
tension or greater it will work for a small line or if it
will handle 2,200 lbs it would work for a longer and tighter
line. Finding out the hard way that your brick enclosed BBQ
grill, porch rail or chimney won't handle that load could be
disastrous. If you have any doubt as to your any doubt to
the anchors appropriateness or if it failed the results
could be disastrous do not use it.

Usually with upright anchors you won’t need any extra
equipment as even with our normal kits you can lash easily
around something 10 feet in circumference depending on your
kit. For more unusual anchors you might find some extra
webbing useful and maybe a carabiner for each end. I
wouldn’t suggest buying these until you see a specific need
however as 99% of the time the kit alone will work by itself
without modifications. Do remember to pad edges, concrete,
bricks and stone can wear through a slackline with ease.

Ground Level Anchors

Ground
level anchors are where you can find something at ground
level to attach the system to and use a second item to lift
the line up to the desired height. Usually we recommend
upright anchors as it is far easier to rig and less
cumbersome. But, if you have to use a ground level anchor
then try and make your life easier by matching it with an
upright anchor on the other end to cut your rigging in half.
For instance you could lash around a cement porch then run
the line over the top of another item that will hold it
upright under tension; the other end could be a telephone
pole or tree.

Ground
level anchors can get complex but you’d be amazed what
people have come up with.

One answer we received as a simple permanent yet hidden
ground anchor. You dig a hole a few feet below the frost
line, pour some cement with a chain in the middle, cover it
back up leaving the tail of the chain barely out and connect
your line to that. Hiding one of these in the rock garden or
flower bed seems to work fairly well without risking hitting
the chain with the mower.

You can also use webbing or rope to equalize many items
which wouldn’t be strong enough on their own such as normal
fence posts and at ground level they are not being levered
out so you can get by with far fewer. Another suggestion is
tying a piece of rope or webbing around a block of wood,
putting the wood on the ground with the rope running towards
where you want to slack and parking your car on top of the
rope where the wood will get squished against the tire.
Basically be creative but be careful you don’t attach to
something that can’t handle the load.

How
to make your own A-Frames

To provide vertical lift we usually recommend making your own
A-Frames. To make your own, simply cut a 2x4 into two posts
the desired height (when at an angle) plus a few inches to have
a top channel. Next cut a support board to go against the
ground between the two supports as well as one to go
horizontally between the top of the supports. Ideally you
should cut these off at the appropriate angle to make a nice
matching edge. Depending on your expected load you may need
additional braces. I usually prefer lots of long screws to
assemble it rather than nails as they seem to keep it held
together better. Next you'll need some plywood approximately
a 1/2" thick to make the support system to keep it all
together from sideways motion. The photo shows minimal plywood but we suggest
using a full panel cut to fit or at least using
significantly larger support panels. This too should be
screwed securely on both sides of the A frame to provide a
good deal of support. The top should have a channel to allow
you to wrap the webbing around it to keep the line in place
and ideally you should have places to anchor it at other
points to secure the A-frame itself to the ground if needed
as well as some up top to keep it from slipping inwards when
you are jumping or putting your weight near the end.

We’d
make these and sell them
but shipping would be horrific and we really don’t want to
get into woodworking products for the time being.

Note: Ground level anchors almost always require extra
rigging materials such as more webbing/rope and carabiners. You
may need upwards of 100 feet of extra webbing for a complex
set of anchors so we suggest you go ahead and buy a roll of
webbing to help cut costs as you'll likely need the extra
anyway.

Slacking on the Beach

The quick solution to get your slacking at the beach is
buried anchors. Take a couple 2 foot long pieces of a 2x4 or
similar object and bury it several feet in the sand. For
best results, bury a couple on each end and equalize the
load. We suggest burying your anchors at least 3-4 feet deep
depending on the compactness of your sand and to keep an eye
on it under use. If it starts moving, re-bury it deeper.

If you don't want to bury anchors you'll need something
similar to a wooden pallet with several 55 gallon trash cans
full of water on top to keep it from moving. The pallet
system works only if you can get a lot of grip with the
ground and have a LOT of weight on it.

Vehicles as Anchors

There are lots of ways of using heavy objects to anchor a
line to
and
vehicles are no exception. First off though, never use a vehicle to
tighten a slackline. Serious injury can result and it can
destroy your slackline system very easily.

One
option is to use a pre-existing trailer hitch or similar.
Make sure you are not wrapping the webbing around any sharp
edges or any part of the vehicle not designed to carry a
load. If your vehicle has
a suitable towing system that is the correct height, great,
that might work but you will have a lot more movement from
the system that you'd expect.

Lacking
a trailer hitch or similar system, you can easily
use the weight of the car to create a ground level anchor and use the A-frame method or use something
else to obtain the desired height. This photo uses a series
of precariously balanced railroad ties. We don't recommend
stacking objects so haphazard but if they had been stacked
differently, say 2 on the
bottom, 2 on the top and the
webbing wrapping completely around the bundle it could have
been much more stable. This photo shows one possible method
of connecting the system to the car without actually tying
off to the car itself but instead driving over the line
wrapped in padding where it has something to keep it from
slipping from under the car tire.

Why Saw Horses & Ladders are not as good as A-Frames

The problem with most saw horses is that they simply
won’t handle the load nor do they flex with the system. They
might work for an afternoon or two but long term wise the
loads are just too great for most commercially made ones and
even the homemade variety has to be very robust to handle
it. The ladder I use in some of photos on this site only
works because it’s commercial duty but it still isn’t ideal
as a good set of A-Frames. One major limitation to any
ladder or saw horse is that they won’t flex with the line
when bouncing – that can pull them over dropping you to the
ground. An A-frame will lean inward but it won’t fall if
properly anchored.
With either system surfing near the ends can potentially tip
them over unless it is somehow secured to the ground. In the
past we've tied short loops of cordage around the legs and
used large tent stakes to help hold it down. This certainly
helps but it doesn't solve the issue completely.

"This hobby is one of the most awesome
things I've ever done. Your kit made set up so
easy." - Heather M.
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